12ax7 vs 5751

i just googled the thor ta1000 pre amp. wow! very nice looking! and very unusual. i`ll let you know straight away when the tubes arrive i`ll do an initial review of the tubes and then a more in depth review when they have more hours on them and when i can give them a good prolonged listen. you might want to think about the telefunken 12ax7 tubes. the ei elites are apparently based on the telefunkens and made with the same tools that made the telefunkens. i have to say that so far the ei elite 12ax7`s have blown everything else i`ve tried out of the water! a truly stunning sound! just dubious about them turning microphonic after a few months use. so far they`re quiet. one is just very slightly microphonic and i do mean its hardly noticeable. the ei elites are very holographic and very 3 dimentional and the depth of sound and tones has to be heard to be believed. a word of warning though......what works in my amp may sound different in yours but i guess this is where the fun lies in finding what works in your system. so far i`ve been extremely lucky finding what works in my system. definately not skill! i`d hardly call myself skilled as this is my very first tube amp. i hope this helps. more to come very soon hopefully.

01-31-12: Mcpherson
Tpreaves
What is Paul lindermanns user name? Thanks

Paul_lindemann

I goofed up and added an "r" in my first post.

Grayf
Yeah I think this Thor was a steal. Had cap upgrades,etc. Today I was cracking up listening to the Commodores. I went from a Marantz receiver as a pre to the Thor, so my cd collection seems brand new.
Are the GE tubes that you ordered (d getter) similar to the triple mica black plates? I am so new to this..it isnt even funny.
How about Phillips Miniwatt 12at7? any experience with those?

Mcpherson

hiya yes the ge`s are d getters triple mica black plates (the really good ones). i`m waiting to pounce on the postman (not literally!) this morning. i`m so hoping he has at least one package for me! i also ordered the telefunken 12ax7 smooth plates yesterday. should get those tomorrow. i want to see if there`s any difference in the sound quality compared to the ei elite 12ax7`s. thats gonna be interesting!

unfortunately i have no experience with the phillips miniwatt 12at7`s as my amplifier doesn`t accept those types. i`m kinda glad too! this tube rolling is getting expensive! i really musn`t order any more! i`ve already built up a small collection of 12ax7`s and 5751`s. i must say i`ve not heard any lousy sounding tubes out of any of them. they all bring something unique to the sound of my amplifier but i will say the ei elites are truly stunning!

we`re both in the same boat as newbies to tubes! i was kind of the same, i went from a denon reciever straight to a tube amp and i know exactly what you meant saying you were cracking up when listening to the commodores. i`ve been exactly the same with some of my cd`s too. i just cannot wipe this stupid grin off my face when i listen to a cd! i feel like the cat that got the cream!

the funny thing is i was listening to music on youtube through headphones on my computer and listened to some of the tracks off that dave gilmour cd on an island. i actually heard more detail through the headphones and they`re only cheapies too but it`s made me think that all that extra detail maybe is to come when i get all these other tubes i`ve ordered but i`ll have to wait and see. once i`m satisfied with the sound in all this mixing and matching i`ll just concentrate on those certain tubes i`ll be using and get spares. all the other tubes i`ll probably sell but i`ll hold onto them maybe a few years to see if they go up in price and hopefully make some extra money.

i`m really excited at the prospect of getting those telefunkens. i got them at a fantastic price off ebay last night. they`re supposed to be the best.

i have to ask.....did the cap upgrades make a difference. i`m thinking of doing the same for my amplifier using mundorf silver/oil caps in the pre amp stage. i`ll be starting a new thread on this topic once i`m happy with the tube arrangements and sound. i bet that`ll be a very interesting topic. keep your eyes peeled for that one. i`, also thinking of upgrading the speaker cables at some point to chord epic cables but that might be some time off yet as those cables are pretty expensive!